Usefulness of multidetector-row computed tomography in evaluating adult cor triatriatum.
Cor triatriatum is a rare congenital cardiac disease in which a fibromuscular membrane divides the left atrium into 2 distinct chambers. The most common presenting symptoms in adults are dyspnea, hemoptysis, and orthopnea, which mimic mitral stenosis in presentation. Cor triatriatum is commonly evaluated and diagnosed by echocardiography.Herein, we describe the case of a 39-year-old woman who had experienced worsening dyspnea for 7 months. Cor triatriatum was diagnosed by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. A 3-dimensional reconstruction image produced by multidetector-row computed tomography (40 slices) clearly showed the intra-atrial membrane and the communicating fenestration, in conjunction with coronary and whole-heart evaluation in a single study. On the basis of our findings, we conclude that multidetector-row computed tomography may be a useful tool, as an adjunct to echocardiography, for whole-heart evaluation before operative correction of cor triatriatum.
Su
Chieh-Shou
CS
Cardiovascular Center, Taichung Veteran General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
Tsai
I-Chen
IC
Lin
Wei-Wen
WW
Lee
Tain
T
Ting
Chih-Tai
CT
Liang
Kae-Woei
KW
D000328:Adult; D003310:Cor Triatriatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D036542:Tomography, Spiral Computed